The Game
by Blink-Dream
Summary: Whatever deity out there listening...I think I might believe in you now. All my life I've never been religious, but I'm willing to start now in this place. Whatever it may be...
1. Where I left you

I do not own Naruto, just my under development character and my plot. Her life is in my hands and this was made because I felt like I owed it to my readers, followers , as well as reviewers as few as they are since I haven't given them anything new to look at.

* * *

_The beginning of another's end may seem like a myth, but it is indeed possible. But don't think it's not painless and doesn't bring consequences along with it. The life as someone else…someone I'm not. But how do I know who I am when I can't even remember my last name. Easy…the bits and pieces that I do know always come in fragments. But let me stop boring you. Let me tell you how I remember my so-called beginning…_

It's warm, the noises outside were muffled though so I can't tell where I am. Do I even have a name? Wait! There's a light, what's going on?! It's too bright for me to see anything and it's blurry too…I still don't know what's going on. I'm afraid, who are these creatures, are they monsters out to get me?

"Shih now little Kaede, mama's here now, no need to cry" a woman's voiced soothed me, it sounded familiar but it was also foreign at the same time. Who was this person that called herself my mother..what was that anyways?

My tears slowed to nothing as she held me close, even warmer than the place before. Things were still blurry as a I searched for her, my hands waved as far as they could reach.I felt something soft and yanked with my barely developed muscles.

"Oh Kaede..that's my hair." The voice weakly reproached me. Something was wrong...she sounded so strong only moments ago. What happened?

The door opened slowly and stayed ajar long enough for me to make out the words, "too week...may not make it...I'm...baby's fine..almost didn't make...going to keep it?" but I heard no reply. There was no need for one as the door slammed the rest of the way open to reveal a blurry figure that radiated strong black aura..who was this...what's going on? Where was the warmth going, it's fading to fast!

"..." my tears and blubbering cut through the painful silence as the comforting heat slipped away from me and the arms that held me so close were no limp and unmoving.

A grunt and a begrudgingly loose hold not a minute later calmed me enough to slow the tears again.

"You're a sensitive little runt aren't you?" The male blur mumbled to himself, it caused me to giggle and reach out for him. His voice also familiar, but I've never known it to be anything but coincidence and nothing more. Sighing he carried me away from the cold room just to put me into a clear cage. What was he doing? I don't belong here, what did I do?! Someone help me out of this place, I want the warm place again, where is she? It's so cold!

Without much prompting the blubbering began once more and no one was there to make the coldness of being alone leave.

It was so dark in the cold place surrounded by nothing but clear walls. Why aren't these other blurry objects worried about someone coming back for us? What was that noise?

The door opened with a low creak and a nurse walked in to do her rounds making sure every small new born was coping well. His head swerved quickly as a whimper reached his ears.

"What's this, someone seems to be awake?" he wandered around the nursery trying to find the source of the noise hoping to silence them before they woke the others.

As he reached it however, he froze and stiffly turned and walked away. 'I hope that child never makes it out of here'

With that thought echoing in his mind, he moved faster before the guilt caught up to him for leaving a child behind. 'Why would they even permit that being to even live?'

His walk hastily turned into a run. He never wanted to see that thing ever again. A woman's face entered his thoughts didn't help him feel anymore pleased with himself for leaving a defenseless babe without the comfort.

"Please forgive me..I can't do this Takaro.." he whispered into the air and turned back sprinting back to the nursery.


	2. You're So Creepy

_Chapter two guys! thanks for all of the follows , this will constantly be a work in progress and I'm going to try to keep up with this one and not give up on it like the others. Remember I don't own Naruto, otherwise I would be making him the uke and whoring him out to every male character I found attractive. Devastating isn't it XD I only own the idea and Kaede Tachibana. I also needed to "rework" this particular chapter since __**someone**__ thought it was too confusing to understand. What is so confusing? It's from an INFANTS view, not an adult. PLEASE do not insult me with petty shit like that. It's annoying to come off a YEAR long hiatus and finally writing again only to read: if you can't get that right then stop writing period. Obviously someone needs to educate you to stop being a rude cunt. This is FANFICTION, not make a freaking fabulous novel about life itself._

_*reference and meaning._

_'Thoughts'_

_"Speech"_

* * *

The night past me like a ghost and my vision still blurry as ever. It didn't worry me as much as it did the day before, but the voices we now as clear as day yet the language they spoke was strange. I barely recognized it. Sure enough they came again, though they weren't one's I remembered yesterday.

"Here she is sir, Kaede Tachibana*. "Grumbled a dark haired blur above my clear prison, but there was someone else with him.

The warmth radiating from them was beckoning for me to cling to it even when I wasn't aware I couldn't reach it. My small lumps called arms reached and waved for whatever the warm blur was.

"I see, let me think about this before I bring the idea of her to the clan head." The wild aura held me close for inspection, was he…sniffing me? I couldn't keep my laughter inside and let them loose as his nose robbed against my sensitive body.

Chuckling the wild aura set me back into my prison and grinned in satisfaction, "I'll be back in a few days runt, don't crawl anywhere."

Earlier:

I need to get her out of here as soon as possible, there was no telling when Takaro would arrive to claim her. He knew it would never end well. This poor girl wouldn't stand a chance against him.

"Excuse me, Inuzuka-san, would you be able to spare a moment?" the aforementioned male head's turned to acknowledge him as he was being treated for injuries from a recent mission he returned from two days before.

"Yea, so?" he groaned when another nurse prodded his ribs. No doubt they were either fractured or broken.

The male nurse fiddled for only a moment before the Inuzuka got impatient and growled at him, "Spit it out Oshiro!"

He jumped startled from his worried thoughts and finally came out with it, "I need your help with preventing Takaro getting his hands on another child. I don't want to bury an innocent who could have had a better life and maybe even save her from becoming like her mother.."

While he may have whispered the last bit of his thoughts, the Inuzuka no undoubtedly heard him anyways. 'Takaro had another kid?...This can't be good..'

Oshiro continued to tremble in fright as he watched him grip the railing of the bed tightly.

"Fine, " He sighed "but you know Tsume has to approve of it first and I want to see what has you flipping your shit anyways."

The home of the Inuzuka's was one a passerby could never forget. They were loud, rowdy and wild. All but two were in the fray at dinner where everyone from the clan gathered and fought for their share of the meal that was set out.

"Tsume, have you heard the news about the kid yet?"

"Yea..what about her?" she watched him with suspicion .

"What do you think.."

"...I'm thinking you're trying to pull some type of shit over me. Spit it out Kenta" Tsume growled lowly.

"Take her in and raise her as one of our pups." He stared her down as she gazed at him in shock.

"You do realize what you're asking me as Clan Head don't you?" Tsume grimaced.

Nodding was all she got in return with a determined glare that told her he wouldn't be backing down anytime soon.

"Fine...we'll go and have a look at her tomorrow morning. Don't make me regret taking her in Kenta."

"I won't!"

-The next day with Oshiro-

I knew he would take her in, but I had no idea Tsume would really go for it. Maybe this child might stand a chance at living...

"Oshiro...where's the brat?" came an angered voice behind him.

Closing his eyes he prepared himself to lie to the man who fathered the poor girl just so he could give the Inuzukas more time to get out of his range.

"It seems she may have annoyed one of the nurses a bit too much with her constant crying and they put an end to it while she was still in the nursery last night" He grinned at the man who narrowed his brown eyes at him.

"Oh really now...can you show me the death certificate then?" Those brown eyes gleamed with danger , daring him to say no.

"Actually...Yes I can." Oshiro waved the paper in front of the man's face teasingly.

Takaro snarled and stomped out of the hospital , slamming the doors to emphasize his anger.

He rubbed the back of his head nervously as he thought 'Well that couldn't gone better..'

A whistle came not a minute later from Kenta stepping around the corner with Tsume and the infant wrapped carefully in her arms.

"Geeze, I didn't know you could lie like that Oshiro!" The younger Inuzuka laughed loudly as he patted his friend on the back harshly.

Tsume shook her head with a smirk and walked to the nurses desk to check out the newest addition to her family.

* * *

Please review and offer suggestions and all that snazz. I'm considering some options and spoilers. Just don't know when to put them where. I've made a few decisions and I may just keep a few people alive just to keep it interesting and then kill them off later just to spruce up my assassination by words skill. I always welcome critics and flames. I never shoo away guests or anonymous reviewers either. Everyone is welcome to drop by.

*Kaede Tachibana : maple , wild orange. So it would actually be in the Japanese language, wild orange maple.


	3. Too Bad

_**Awesome :) thanks for those who review and followed. I'm glad everyone is enjoying this. This may be my first self insert but this is surely not my first fiction. I'm having too much fun with this chapter, if you think I should include something or someone especially if I'm getting Tsume Inuzuka wrong (even though I have her pulled on on Naruto Wiki lol) I decided that Kaede needs a bit of a change in something since her life in the Inuzuka house hold will be anything but ordinary! Let's get on with the show!**_

_**-**_**bold- **definition

_-thoughts-_

_"_talking"

* * *

Life in the Inuzuka home wasn't like most, they were for one everywhere you look no matter where you seemed to glance. They were also very welcoming despite the tense moment of Tsume bringing the infant home at first.

"Kenta, since you're the one who wanted to keep her she's yours to watch over and educate."

"Wait WHAT?!" Squawks of outrage and displeasure followed her around their relatively modest compound.

In the end he really didn't care, but he still wanted to ask Tsume one more thing before she became one of them.

"What are we going to call her now? We can't just call her Kaede, Takaro-bastard would find out Oshiro was lying and take her."

"I hate to say it but you're right," watching the squirming child in her crib trying to reach for them so she could be held, "we'll hold a vote!"

Kenta was in disbelief at the idea although he couldn't say he could think of anything better.

Sighing he followed her to the room where they held their meetings once a month.

* * *

Tsume walked and stood behind the podium that held a list of name for the child they would vote on, after all, she couldn't go around nameless could she?

"Alright you piece of shits, we're about to start, for those who have no idea how this goes I'm only going to explain this once. When you agree or favor you will raise your panel and show it to be green. Same for disagree or disapprove of the motion, but you will flip it to the red side. Simple enough?"

At the nods she received along with the silence, she began to call out the names:

"Shinobu* **(endurance)**"

Twelve raised their panels green, three red.

"Tsubasa*"**(wing)**

Many members raised their brows at the name wonder who would've wanted to name a child of the clan something so feminine. No one raised their panels green so Tsume crossed the name out without hesitation.

"Ren*"** (lotus)**

Tsume's eye twitched as every red panel was raised once more. Furiously she scratched out the name.

"Yasu*" **(level)**

All fifteen members gathered and looked at one another with confusion. The whispers began:

"Who would name a girl Yasu? Are you kidding me, that's so weird"

"I bet it was Moe, she always tries to sneak in and screw with the votes."

"I wonder who really did it, Tsume looks pissed"

"shhh idiots, she might eat us!"

* * *

Tsume watched as the whispers grew into loud yells and accusations, rubbing her temples she wondered why she even bothered. Though it finally seemed that they had a new name for the kid now. _'Shinobu Inuzuka...I like it'_

At her grin the council grew quiet in fear of an outburst, nothing came.

"Shinobu Inuzuka , will be her name from now on forward. Any questions?"

A panel raised signaling a question.

"Yes?"

"Are we going to train her as one of us as well as teach her in our traditions?" a voice inquired.

"..." Tsume thought for a moment contemplating the pros and cons of what could happen if the new addition was to become a kunoichi.

"Tsume-sama?" the elder pushed.

"Yes, we will include her in our family as if she was truly born as one of us. No one else knows she isn't except for Kenta, but I've made sure he's the one whose in charge of her upbringing." The woman explained.

"Are you sure he's capable?" another elder put his two cents into the conversation.

"Damn right he is, if he messes up I'll make sure to raise her as my own!" Tsume declared to the shock of the council.

* * *

Meanwhile...

Kenta rocked the small babe in his arms smiling softly at her. _'Shinobu huh...not bad..I surely thought they would've picked Yasu' _At the thought he chuckled and placed her back in her crib seeing she was finally sleeping peacefully.

_'Maybe I could try and get Sakumo to have a play date with her some time' _

Tsume found him leaning over the wooden crib they had made for the newly dubbed Shinobu grinning at nothing.

"Kenta, you're making dinner tonight." with that said and a devastated Kenta wailing about evil curry, she left smirking at the victory.


	4. Paralyzer

Alright alright alright! I actually managed to get to a fourth chapter -tears- I'm so proud! I'm starting to get ideas for another fiction on the side. It's all because I don't see enough Omoi\Oc or enough Omoi stories period. He's too adorable to not write about! I barely was able to post this since my internet keeps going in and out because of the storm that's rolling through here. -sigh- How bothersome ya know? But anyways I do want to thank all of the people who were kind enough to review. It helps me keep on going.

'_thoughts\dreams'_

_"_talking, om nom nom"

**"meaning, reference"**

_The night sky looked beautiful when the lights were out around the city. It was shame I have to work late tonight._

"_Oi Tenaka, we need you on the streets tonight." Crackled over the radio on my desk._

_I sighed, 'How bothersome, I hate working the streets at night. Who knows what can go wron. I don't even have a partner!'_

_It seemed like nothing was going my way tonight. Nothing ever did._

_Getting into my patrol car and wondering the roads for what seemed like years I clocked off and reported in._

"_Yo chief," I grinned at the head of the unit only getting a quirked brow in return and an expecting glance._

"_everything went smoothly. No one was out this time and no illegal activity was spotted either."_

_The man grumbled about being too old for this shit and I chuckled lightly then turned and clocked out so I could go home._

_The drive home was silent as ever, what I came home to wasn't what I was expecting. It was in flames, they licked every inch of the walls and tickled the trees almost tempting the wind to blow them closer so they could join in the raging fire._

_But that was the least of my worries, where was Jinta, where was her-_

"_Shinobu,"_

"_Shinobu, it's time to wake up"_

_Who was that? I don't know anyone by the name Shinobu. Whoever they were they needed to wake up so they wouldn't worry their parents._

"_Oi , brat I know you can hear me with all that mumbling you're doing"_

With a groan I was yanked out of my cocoon of blankets by the bane of my existence. Kenta Inuzuka.

"Geeze, kiddo for only someone only four years old you sleep like a old lady!" He laughed slapping his knees at his own joke.

I only rubbed my eyes and wondered if Kenta was an idiot, so I decided to ask him.

The reaction was priceless as he shouted that I would be "paying for it later", what he meant I had no idea but Tsume leaning against the door frame was all I needed to make my day better than waking up to his ugly mug.

"Hey runt, you ready to learn some stuff today?" Her raspy voice told me things would be a whole lot different…after all today was my fourth birthday.

As I ran to go shower and get ready for the first day of training big brother Kenta looked at her questioningly.

"Are you sure she's ready to learn? She's still just a runt. "

"If I wasn't sure then I wouldn't be doing this Kenta. And besides you won't be able to teach her for a while."

"What?" His brows furrowed in confusion.

"The Hokage is sending you on a mission with Sakumo**(1)** for who knows how long. Go so you can get over with." Her growled demand sent him running immediately.

Tsume watched Shinobu's progress as if she were something special. But she had no idea that as she continued to train, Tsume wasn't the only one who watched her fly through the training, devouring simple techniques like chakra exercise like she had done it all her life.

The wild haired woman looked to the elders who observed the adopted child with hard eyes.

"She will be marked as one of us tonight. Our decision is final."

With that said Tsume narrowed her ebony eyes on their retreating backs in frustration.

"I wonder..." '_Did they know how fast she was getting through this...no doubt she'll be our oddball protégé' _

_"_Hey hey! Big sister Tsume, guess what!" The younger brunette squealed happily.

Turning Tsume gaped at the little girl who was...standing on her _own_...on top of _a tree._

'_What have I done?'_

A week later

"Man it's good to be back in the village eh Sakumo?"

"Maa..You're right; it is good to be back. Even if for a little while at least" said man smiled lightly at the male beside him.

The two walked to the tower ahead of them ready to report in accidentally bumping into an outrageously angry Tsume.

Sakumo waved his hands in front of him hoping to ward off the ki she was emitting steadily into the air, meanwhile his partner bravely asked why she was in such a foul mood.

"THOSE IDIOTS LET SHINOBU GET TAKEN!" her rage flowed through her every word and it shook the very man to the core.

"..w-who..w-w-what do you mean **taken!"** It was almost shameful to watch the once prideful Inuzuka Kenta turn into a pale fretting mother hen.

Well okay maybe I had a little bit too many pop tarts this week and decided to let our little Shin-shin get kidnapped by unknown people. It was a choice I had to make to keep it interesting ya know? Besides I wasn't going to bore you with small things. I'm going to save those for one-shots when I'm done with this piece.

**(1)** Sakumo-chan made himself appear in this story because I do enjoy his character quite a bit and I won't lie...I'm going to be pretty upset when I'm given the choice of killing him again or keeping him...we'll see

-I may chance the pairings, yes I said chance not change. For a reason:

a) Obito, may end up as a childish crush like he'll have a on Rin and the one she has on Kakashi.

b) Kenta, yea don't nag, she calls him big brother because he feels like it makes him sound old if she ever called him pa, dad, or daddy. Plus he's a bit of a lady's man...or so he thinks.

anywhovers, please review, follow or just stalk to your content. Remember I love you all...except for you Sasuke, I don't love you. XD


	5. Pay the enemy

So the not so long awaited chapter five. I finished it yesterday but my internet wouldn't come up so I had to copy it word for word from my laptop to the main computer's documents because I can't access my email on the other computer either. No point. No internet. Anyways let's get it on shall we?

Trees swayed to and fro as the wind caressed their leaves blissfully ignorant of the scene underneath their branches. Three nondescript men were trudging forward through the forest towards the Hidden Village in the Clouds with a bulging sack in one's arms.

"We better pick up the pace, we have a four day trip back home." The leader remarked as his dull brown eyes spotted the setting sun.

"Yes sir!"

Two hours into their journey the three men settled into a quick but steady pace hidden by nights shroud. It was mostly silent until one decided to speak.

"Hey boss, how long did you say the gift was going to be knocked out anyways?" The youngest, Dingo, innocently inquired.

"...three days. I made sure the bag was covered with the knock out drug to make sure if she wakes up earlier than planned then it would be taken care of without any troubles." The elder man, Sharron, spoke not looking back at the boy.

"Oh..." Dingo looked at the sack with worry. '_Please lord of creation, look after her, she may not live through this ordeal. I am so sorry little girl. Whoever you are, I hope you can eventually forgive me for what my teammates are about to put you through...'_

The third and final member of their group remained silent lost in his thoughts about the small girl they took. What was this point in taking this girl anyways, she meant nothing to them or their cause? His grip tightened around the sack as the next thought almost threw him off and into the ground, what if Sharron planned on selling her to the rings?

Horror spread through his being as he glanced to dingo quietly. The young man met his eyes sadly and frowned. Signing to his younger partner he asked if he knew what they were going to with the package after they reached the village.

The boy shook his head and signed back that he knew nothing except that they were going to take her to the village for a trade.

A trade for what he wondered...

Back inside the Hidden Leaf:

"Lord Hokage I need to make a request a tracking and retrieval team to rescue one of the Inuzuka clan's children, Shinobu Inuzuka." Tsume demanded.

"I'm afraid it can't be done Tsume. I'm sorry, but we can't just waste our resources for just one child. Especially during a war."

Kenta stood there behind here still trying to process what had occurred not even hours ago. All the while Sakumo Hatake silently observed them both with interest, he turned to his friend and teammate,

"Is she the one you've been trying to get me to introduce to my son?"

Sliding a hand over his frustrated face, the male Inuzuka nodded and groaned " and she was so excited when I told her I knew someone her age that stood a chance to keep up with her energy wise. Shin talked about it for days hoping to meet him one day."

_Dream fragments:_

_A blonde teen shoved her way through the crowded hall ways trying to find a familiar face but her glasses covered eyes couldn't seem to find the seemingly mirror image with the exception of golden eyes._

_"Where are you sis, I don't like this feeling I'm getting without you here..." She whispered to herself finally walking through a room filled with people, classmates, her mind supplied for her._

_"Hey four eyes, where's that copy cat of yours?" a distinctly female voice sneered above her as her glasses were snatched from her face. It essentially blurred the girls face when she turned to see who it was._

_The blonde didn't say a word; she only turned back to her seat and ignored the dark haired girl whose name slipped her mind once again._

_"Fight! Fight! Fight!" the preteens cheered around two small figures in a tight circle._

_"I bet you won't hit yourself!"_

_"Yea I bet you won't be the copy cat!"_

_Yelling followed as the two identical girls rolled around pulling at one another's hair and clothes unwilling to try to land a punch unless..it was someone else. A stray fist flew wayward of its intended target and landed on one of the instigators. Chaos ensued as the blondes no longer were fighting each other. Now they were fighting the rest of the play ground._

_The green eyed twin remembered thinking 'how bothersome' as her sister tried to convince her to play a round of cops and robbers._

Groaning the four year old girl slowly awakened to darkness and movement. Faintly she wondered if this was some kind of joke that her older brother Kenta was playing on her, but then she remembered Kenta wasn't home yet.

Where was she? Where was big sister Tsume?

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she panicked. All she knew at this point were weird peoples accents yelling at each other about rings and a village being nearby as she struggled to not fade back into the void of someone she never met.

"Oi I think she's waking up again boss." Dingo called from his perch on a fallen log next to the burning flames.

"Good, you can take her out now." Sharron replied walking out of his tent.

The third male of their group watched on grimly as the dark haired man kicked the girl who was released from her drugged prison.

"Roujin."

The silent man immediately helped her up and made sure she wasn't injured. Thankfully the kick did bruise her ribs or anything. He then decided now would be a better chance than any to give her a once over.

Her hair was darker than the richest chocolate, smooth with curls at the ends. It was strange she kept it ear length, giving her a boyish look. But it worked for her in a he eyes, they were confusing...One moment they were stormy grey and then the next they were a mixture between the storm and the blackest of on from there he saw she was too thin for her size. Her age, he could guess to be two or three years old.

Roujin was staring so intently he almost missed the small mumble coming from the small girl.

"Hmm?"

The dark haired child shyly peered at him from her hands she was nervously wringing.

"I said I miss my big sister and big brother...I want to go home..."

He sighed brushing a hand through his ink colored locks; he was interrupted as his eager companion made himself known.

"What's your name kid, mines Dingo!" The boys cheeriness brought a smile to her face.

"Shinobu, but my big sister calls me Shin-chin and my big brother calls me Nobu." She mimicked Dingo's hyper introduction.

Smirking at the two Roujin ruffled the boy's hair and walked off to find Sharron knowing they would follow after him.

"Hey wait Roujin, don't strut off like that! You know I can't navigate like you do!"

"Oi...I Don't strut"

"Yes you do. You strut like a woman!"

"No I don't"

"Yes yo-"SMACK"Ow! What was that for?"


	6. One Step Closer

**Alright Chapter Six of the Game! Sadly there weren't any reviews for last chapter so I wasn't sure if I should even post this one. But I know that it was pretty crappy after I reread it. It was an off day for it. But this one was made with a better flow and more patience for working with the character interaction and reaction. Plus I made a lot of corrections on the last few chapters including this one, I also adjusted her age to make more sense for her to be able to do things instead of her being some inhuman brat ya know? Anyways sorry about that.**

The walk from the check point dragged on as Roujin listened to his subordinate babble on to the female captive. It turned out it had been her fourth birthday and she couldn't wait to be one year closer to being a "big girl" in her family's eyes.

He closed his own forest green one's and thought hard. How could his own brother be such an idiot? This girl was from Konoha. More specifically from a well known clan at that!

While she may not have the markings of one, but she had certain ticks that stuck out to him. But to anyone else that would be small enough to be ignored he mused with a frown.

Roujin sighed and turned to his young companions, "Shh, both of you. Shannon is three meters away. I'm only going to say this once…"

Listening with wide eyes they leaned in and payed attention with the utmost rapture.

_**Back in Konoha:**_

Tsume paced with fraying patience. It seemed that the news her charge had been under the protection of an undercover agent who was posing as a member of the human slave trade that was held in the Village Hidden in the Clouds. She had no idea how long he had been under but what she did know was that her Nobu was alive.

She trusted her instincts. She could only hope she came back in one piece..if not, then someone would pay dearly. No one messed with her kin and got away with it.

No one.

Kenji watched the wild haired brunette silently. She had been like this for a whole week and nothing else had been done since Sakumo left two days ago saying he had a quick mission to take care of.

What was this world coming to that not even their leader would lend a hand?

One thing was clear to the two Inuzuka's as they stewed in their troubled thoughts. The Cloud would pay for this.

Shinobu was dizzy; no she was more than that. It felt like she was flying...quite quickly since everything appeared as a blur of browns and greens. What was going on? Had she been taken once again?

The small now three year old tried moving her toes to see if she had been tied up like the first time, but she wasn't. Were these people stupid? She could escape if she wasn't tied!

Suddenly a thought occurred. Why couldn't she remember what happened after Roujin told her they were going to play a game?

Something wasn't right.

Shrugging it off she let her mind wander off into blissful blankness. It didn't last long as a noise startled her from her dazed state.

"I see you're awake now Shinobu-chan." came from underneath her. Wait underneath?!

Her brown eyes frantically searched for the source of the amused voice. When it was found all she could see was a white bush of hair kept together with a red hair tie.

Who was this man?

Was he taking her farther away from her home too?

Tears began to gather in the corners of her eyes as she to wail, "I WANT TO GO HOME!"

Shinobu felt him flinch slightly at the high pitch sent directly into his sensitive ear drums. Oops!

"Maa...calm down Shinobu-chan. We're almost there. Kenji missed you while you were gone you know." The white haired male soothed, stopping on a low hanging branch,

He took her off his firm shoulder and brought her down to the soft grass close to his side. In the clearing two ANBU members waited to escort them back to the village.

Spotting them he nodded and grabbed the four year old's hand.

"Let's go home."

_**Two hours earlier:**_

Roujin snapped his eyes to the small boy who layed in the middle of the camp drooling knowing he would be waking soon. It was a shame he had to resort to this sort of thing...was it because he was selfish? No. He was just complying to orders.

He felt Dingo slowly awaken from the genjutsu as it faded from his foggy mind.

'_That was almost too close. I pray to the sun gods that Sakumo gets to her in time.'_

Dingo rubbed his eyes as he sat up, "Where's Shinobu-san?"

"She went to hide as soon as you started counting. You've been keeping both her and myself waiting for quite a while. You fell asleep as soon as you hit ten." Roujin's lip's twitched upwards as he continued with the lie.

"I had to come back to camp to see what was taking you so long and found you like this. Do you realize you talk in your sleep dingo?"

The smaller of the two gaped in horror, there was no way he could have fallen asleep like that! There was only one way to come back from this. Act like it never happened.

"So that means..." Dingo trailed off.

"You're it...again." This time Roujin couldn't hold back the smirk that threatened to overtake his face.

"Bastard! No way!"

When no reply came, he found that Roujin was already walking away.

"You better start running; I'm going to beat you this time for sure!" The small boy declared loudly.

Roujin only waved him off and disappeared in a cloud of smoke that left Dingo with a coughing fit.


End file.
